Method of setting blind and invisible eyelets



Dec. 15, 1925- v H. a. MILLER lemon or ss'r'rmc sum) AND n'wxsxsw mum's Original Filed Aug. 26, 1918 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

NETEI STATES l,5t5,286 FECE.

HOMER IB. MILLER, OF GARDINER, MAINE, ASSIGNOE TO UNITED SHOE LMACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATEBSON, NEV] JERSEY, A COBEORATION OF new JERSEY.

IVIETI-IOD OF SETTING- BLIND AND ENVISIBLE EYELETS.

Original application filed August 26, 1918, Serial lilo. 251,458. Rcnewecl March 31, 1921, Serial No.

457,424. Divided and this application filed February 17, 1522.

To (a l whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOMER B. MILLER a citizen of the United States, residing at Gardiner, in the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Setting Blind and Invisible Eyelets, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a spc Nication,

like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to the art of setting fasteners such as eyelets and is illustrated herein with reference to the setting of blind and invisible eyelets. As these terms are used in the manufacture of boots and shoes eyelets are said to be blind when set in such a way that their flanges lie on the outside of the upper while their clenched portions lie between two layers of the upper while they are called invisible when set in such a way that the flanges lie 011 the inside of the upper and the clenched portions lie between two of the layers and are not visible from the outside. From the standpoint of this invention, the method of setting invisible eyelets does not differ essen tially from that of setting blind eyelets, the determining factor being the direction in which the entering end of the eyelet barrel is introduced into the article of work, which in one case is from. the outside toward the inside and in the other case from the inside toward the outside.

Heretofore the best known method of setting blind and invisible eyelets has been to punch a hole through all the layers of the work, and before inserting the eyelet into such hole to place a restricted clenching shoulder against the opposite surface of the work,then to insert the eyelet and to depend upon its end thrust to force one layer of the upper past the clenching shoulder of such tool so that the clenching shoulder will take the desired position between the two layers where the clenched portions of the eyelet are intended to lie. The force required to pass one of the layers over the clenching shoulder varies according to the thickness and toughness of the materials used in the upper, and while in many cases the thrust of the ingoing eyelet is suflioient to accomplish this result there are many other cases when it is not suf- Serial No. 537,237.

licient. For example, when the layer that is to be forced over the shoulder is made of relatively tough leather a relatively great force is required to expand it sufficiently to permit the clenching shoulder to pass through its hole, and in such cases experience has shown that instead of slipping past the clenching shoulder it remains in front of the shoulder with the result that the barrel of the eyelet passes through all the layers and is ultimately clenched on an exposed surface instead of between two of the layers. Even when the beneath layer in which the eyelet should be clenched d es not wholly resist the thrust of the ingoing eyelet it frequently resists to such an extent that it does not pass quite far enough beyond the clenching shoulder, in which cases the leading end of the eyelet barrel, as it progresses: outwardly from the clenching shoulder in the early stages of the clenching frequently catches in the material of the layer beneath which it should be clenched and deforms the hole and otherwise damages that layer so that it either irreparably spoils the piece of work or requires removal of that eyelet and the substitution of a new eyelet.

In view of the problems and difliculties above set forth an object of this invention is to provide an improved method of setting blind and invisible eyelets in such a way as to insure correct and satisfactory setting in every case, regardless of how much force may be necessary to push the layer through which the eyelets are not to pass past the clenching shoulder. In one of its aspects, my improved method consists in bringing sufiicient pressure to bear against the article of work at points outside of or removed from the hole in which the eyelet is to be inserted to force the layer through which the eyelets are not to pass past the clenching shoulder, thus locating the clenching shoulder in the desired operative position between two predetermined layers of the article before the eyelet begins to enter the article.

In my copending application Serial No. 457,424, filed March 31, 1921, upon which United States Letters Patent No. 1,436,186, were granted Nov. 21, 1922, I have disclosed and claimed a machine adapted to practice this method, and the present application is a division of my sit) former said application in pursuance of an ofiicial requirement for division. To facilitate reference from each of these applications to the other the drawings forming a part of my present application are identical with those of my former said application and the same reference characters are used to identifythe same elements in both.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an eyeleting machine of the same general type as that illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States 1,205,277 granted November 21, 1916 on an application of Walter Shaw, but the present drawings disclose novel features of construction by which blind and invisible eyeleting may be practiced according to my present improved. method;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation partly in section of the working instrumentalities at that stage where the punching means have completed the )unching of a hole through all the layers of the work;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but 'showing a more advanced stage of the operation, the layer through which the eyelets are not to pass having been forced past the clenching shoulder and the eyelet having yetto enter the article of work; and

Fig. 4 shows a still more advanced stage in the operation, the eyelet having been completely inserted and clenched between two of the layers.

The article of work shown comprises layers 2% and 25, the layer 24 being the layer and the layer through which the eyelets are not to pass being the eyeletreceiving layer. This representation of the work is conventional to some extent although it is more graphic than a strictlyaccurate representation, since for invisible eyeleting the element would, according to usual shoe construction, include at least two layers such as a facing or lining and eyelet stay, and in some cases three layers, such as an inside facing, lining and eyelet stay. On the other hand, for blind eyeleting the layer 2st would be the inside facing and the element 25 would include the outside layer of upper leather, lining and eyelet stay.

A portion of the machine frame is indicated at 10 and the operating shaft is indicated at 11. This shaft is provided with the various cams required to operate the seyeral mechanisms such as the punching mechanism, work-feeding mechanism, raceway mechanism, and eyeletsetting mechanism. A disk 12 carried by the shaft 11 has the usual cam groove in its rear face to operate the eyelet-inserting tool let. This tool is provided with a spring-pressed spindle 15 for picking an eyelet from the raceway 16 as shown by Fig. 2.

A single tool serves to punch a hole through all the layers of the work, to feed the work for the purpose of spacing successive eyelets, and to clench each eyelet in turn. The clenching shoulder of this tool is indicated at 20 and the pilot portion indicated at 22 serves first to punch a hole through all the layers as shown by Fig. 2, then to feed the work to the position shown by Fig. 8, and finally to guide the barrel of the eyelet through the eyelet-receiving layers. This tool is affixed to a carrier 21 which, in a machine of the type illustrated in said Patent 1,205,277, is a lever and has a compound motion. The motions imparted to the lever 21 cause the tool carried thereby to execute a four-way motion, first downwardly to punch the hole, then from right to left to feed the work, then upwardly to disengage the work, and finally from left to right preparatory to punching another hole.

For the purpose of punching the hole this tool cooperates with a stationary punchblock 28 fastened to a fixture 33.

A mechanically operated presserfoot 26 cooperates with a work table 30 to clamp the article of work intermittently usual to release the work just prior to the be ginning of the feeding operation so as to remove all restraint from the work during the feeding period. The work table is provided with a hole through which the punchblock 23 extends so that the work-engaging surface of the punch-block may be flush with that of the table at the moment of punching as shown by Fig. 2.

Vhiie various means may be used to force the uneyeleted layer past the clenching shoulder before the eyelet is inserted it is convenient to use the work table 30 for this purpose. Accordingly the work table as shown is arranged to be moved upwardly by a cam surface 36 formed on the periphery of the cam disk 12, the connections including a crossbar 3 arranged to ride on the periphery of the cam disk, pins 32 rigidly connecting the crossbar with the work table, and compression springs 35 arranged to maintain downward pressure on the crossbar to counteract the lifting action of the cam surface 36. The pins 32 are arranged to slide in bearings formed in the fixture The described construction is adapted to practice my improved method as follows: The initial positions of the parts are represented in Fig. l, the setting tool 20 being raised sufficiently from the work table to permit placing an articie of work between it and the punch-block. The work table is at its lower level, its work-engaging surface being flush with the punch-block as shown by Fig. 2. The presser-foot, which is normally held down by a suitable spring, may be lifted manually so that the article of work may be placed under it. Assuming that the work has been placed in the desired position overlying the punch-block, and that the presserfoot is permitted to clamp it, the operative may start the operation of the machine as by depressing a treadle to trip a clutch to drive the cam shaft in the direction indicated by arrows in Figs. 1 and 2. The operation then proceeds as follows: The lever 21 carries the punching and setting tool down to the punch-block to punch a hole through all the layers as shown by Fig. 2, and then relieves the pressure against the punch-block sufiiciently to facilitate feeding but not enough to retract the punch from the work. The presserfoot then rises to release the work and the lever 21 moves to shift the punching tool from right to left so as to place said tool in registration with the inserting tool. In the meantime the inserting tool has risen to cause its spindle 15 to take an eyelet from the raceway, and the raceway has been retracted to clear the path of the inserting tool. As soon as the punching and setting tool has arrived at its position in registration with the inserting tool, the presserfoot re-clamps the work and the cam 36 raises the work table and thereby lifts the article of work sufficiently to pass the layer 24 over the clenching shoulder .20, the Work table having a hole 31 .into

which the lower end of the punching element 22 may protrude in consequence of this motion. This hole 31 is, in fact, large enough to receive the inserting tool 14l-, and permits the element 25 of the work to bend downwardly into it as shown by Fig. This bending moment is the result of upward movement of the work table and downward pressure of the clenching shoulder occasioned thereby. The amplitude of upward movement executed by the table is sufficient to carry the layer 24 past the clenching shoulder but not suflicient to carry the ele-' ment 25 past said shoulder so that the upward movement of the work table applies a force to the Work at points outside of or removed from the hole in the work to push the layer 24% of the work past the shoulder 20 of the setting tool. Up to this point in the cycle the tool 14 has not risen far enough to insert the leading end of the eyelet barrel into the article of, work but the layer 24 through which the eyelet is not to pass has nevertheless been passed beyond the clenching shoulder 20 so that the latter occupies the desired position between two of the layers. The cam 36 maintains the work table at its upper level. while the inserting tool continues to rise to the position shown in Fig. 4, the barrel of the eyelet meanwhile passing through the element 25, engaging the clenching shoulder, and being trans formed and clenched between the layers. The setting operation is thus completed and thereafter the lever 21 withdraws the clenching tool and punch from the article of work and then carries them from left to right preparatory to punching another hole, the inserting tool 14 descends to take another eyelet from the raceways, and the cam 36 permits the springs 35 to return the table. to its lower level. This complete a cycle of the machine. 1

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That method of setting blind or invisible eyelets, which consists in forcing a punch through all the layers of an article of work, thereafter, but while the punch remains in said article, relatively moving the said article and an annular clenching ele ment so as to pass the latter through one of the layers of said article, and thereafter inserting an eyelet into the article so as to clench it against said shoulder.

2. That method of setting blind or invisible eyelets, which consists in forming a hole through all the layers of an article of work, thereafter moving the work relatively to an annular clenching shoulder so as to insert the latter into and pass is through one of said layers, and thereafter inserting an eyelet into .said article so as to clench it against said shoulder.

3. That method of setting blind or invisible eyelets, which consists in forcing a punch through all the layers of an article of work, thereafter, but while the punch remains in said article, moving the article relatively to an annular clenching element so as to insert the latter into and pass it through one of said layers, and thereafter inserting an eyelet into said article so as to clench it against said clenching element.

4. That method of setting blind or invisible eyelets, which consists in passing a feeding tool through all the layers of an article of work, moving the feeding tool so as to feed the work edgewise, moving the work relatively tothe feeding tool and a clenching shoulder so as to pass the latter through one of said layers, and thereafter inserting an eyelet into the work so as to clench it against said shoulder between two of said layers.

5. That method of setting blind or invisible eyelets, which consists in forming a hole through all the layers of an article of work, moving the article lengthwise of the axis of said hole so as to pass one of said layers over a clenching shoulder arranged to enter the hole, and thereafter inserting an eyelet into said hole so as to clench it against said shoulder between two of said layers.

6. That method of setting blind or invisible eyelets, which consists in forming a hole through all the layers of an article of work, feeding the article to transfer said hole to an eyeleting locality from some other locality, moving the article relatively to a clenching shoulder so as to pass one of said layers over said shoulder, and then inserting an eyelet into said hole so as to clench it against said shoulder between two of said layers.

7 That improvement in methods of inserting fasteners in a plurality of layers of material which consists in punching a hole through the layers of material, then moving the material relatively to the clenching shoulder of a fastening inserting tool so as to pass the shoulder through the hole in one or more of said layers, and thereafter inserting a fastener in the hole of the other or others of said layers and clenching the fastener between adjacent layers.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HOMER B. MILLER.

Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,565,286, granted December 15, 1925, upon the application of Homer B. Miller, of Gardiner, Maine, for an improvement in Methods of Setting Blind and Invisible Eyelets, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 76, after the Word clenching insert a comma; page 2, line 37 strike out the words and the layer and insert the same to follow after the Word pass in line 3S;-page 3, line 72, for the Word complete read completes, and line 92, for the Word is read it, and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 4th day of May, A. D. 1926.

[emu] M. J. MOORE,

. Acting Commissioner 0/ Patents. 

